White Chocolate Meyer Lemon Truffles
Meyer lemons add an intensity of flavor to these sublime white chocolate and lemon truffles.
I adore white chocolate. It has a suave, subtle and creamy taste that compliments other flavors, such as the Meyer lemon in this recipe. White chocolate has none of the cacao mass that gives dark chocolate its color, but rather an ivory hue that comes from the pure cocoa butter. Cocoa butter is derived from the chocolate-making process when cocoa powder is made. Roasted cacao beans are ground into a paste called liquor and this paste is pressed to separate the cacao mass from the cocoa butter. When melted, cocoa butter releases its luscious flavor and has an ultra smooth consistency, making it magnificent on the palate when combined with sugar, milk and vanilla. The White Chocolate Meyer Lemon Truffles have this luxurious texture with the added brightness of sunny lemon flavor. Meyer lemons are sweet enough that they can even be eaten raw in small quantities and their zest has a subtle floral quality. What I love about Meyer lemons is their hint of mandarin flavor and balanced acidity which is a perfect pairing with the creamy richness of white chocolate.
The Process:
The first step in making the truffles is to create a ganache for the centers. Ganache is a mixture of chocolate and heavy cream melted together, typically done in a 1:1 ratio. A small amount of butter is often added, as in this recipe. This adds a bit more richness and additional flavor. The cream, white chocolate and butter are whisked until smooth and then a bit of the Meyer lemon zest is added to give a punch of lemon flavor.
Chill the ganache until firm. I use a small scoop or melon-baller to form the truffle centers.
Roll the centers with your hands, working quickly so as not to melt the chocolate. If this starts to happen, place the centers in a freezer for a few minutes to firm them back up. Chill them once again once rolled smooth.
Additional white chocolate is melted and cooled slightly. Be sure to use a high-quality white chocolate with a proper amount of cocoa butter. The FDA has mandated that white chocolate must contain at least 20% cocoa butter. There are many products that look like or are labeled as “white chocolate” but they often contain very little, if any, cocoa butter. White baking chips or morsels usually contain mostly milk, oil and sugar. When melting these products will often seize up and be frustrating to work with. Good white chocolate should be deep ivory in color and melt smoothly. I use a truffle fork (looks like a mini pitch fork!) for dipping the centers, but you can use a small fork or spoon of any variety. Allow the truffles to harden on a rack so that the excess white chocolate will drip off.
Once the truffles have hardened I like to spray them with a bit of edible gold decorating spray or dust with a bit of luster dust (more about that here: Eggnog Stamped Shortbread). You could also drizzle with a bit of melted dark chocolate! I like setting them in small truffle papers or alternatively wrapping them in gold foils for gifting. Be sure to store the White Chocolate Meyer Lemon Truffles at a cool temperature to keep them fresh! Happy gifting 🙂
White Chocolate Meyer Lemon Truffles
Ingredients
- 1 pound good quality white chocolate, chopped
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1/3 cup heavy cream
- Pinch salt
- 1 tablespoon fresh Meyer lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
- 1 pound chopped white chocolate for dipping
Instructions
- Melt 1 pound white chocolate, butter and heavy cream together in a microwave-safe bowl on medium heat, stirring every 30 seconds until smooth.
- Stir in salt, lemon juice and zest.
- Refrigerate mixture until firm.
- Use a small scoop or melon-baller to scoop out truffle centers. Roll into balls and chill again until firm.
- Melt remaining white chocolate and use to coat centers, dipping them with a truffle fork or small spoon.
- Let truffles harden on a cooling rack and decorate if desired. 2-3 dozen truffles, depending on size.
